In an effort to improve upon and monitor the health care needs of Veterans, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has produced for the first time the “National Veteran Health Equity Report” that details patterns and provides comparative rates of health conditions for vulnerable Veteran groups.

TheNational Veteran Health Equity Report is designed to provide basic comparative information on the socio-demographics, utilization patterns and rates of diagnosed health conditions among the groups over which the VHA Office of Health Equity (OHE) has responsibility. The OHE monitors, evaluates and acts on identified disparities in access, use, care, quality and outcomes.

Most importantly the report allows the VA, Veterans, and stakeholders to monitor the care vulnerable Veterans receive and set goals for improving their care.

Data for the National Veteran Health Equity Report are from centralized, national VHA administrative databases of enrollment, outpatient, inpatient, and Non-VA (Fee) medical care, but do not include long-term care services or care received privately by VHA users. All of the report chapters are drafted by VA subject matter experts.

This new publication is now available as a FREE PDF download through the U.S. Government Bookstore at bookstore.gpo.gov.

The report is a primary medical reference for health policy decision-makers, medical providers and trainees. Physicians and medical students involved with U.S. Veterans’ healthcare may also be interested in this information. Individuals compiling medical statistics related to U.S. Veterans’ health quality and their families involved with caregiving may also find this data helpful.

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Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

On March 29, 1973, President Richard Nixon welcomed home the last of the combat military members from the Vietnam War. In honor of that day, we now celebrate their return and the sacrifices our soldiers made to serve our nation proudly overseas. The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) offers access to the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017, which designated March 29 as Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Day, through the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP).

GPO’s govinfo offers the original Presidential Proclamation for Vietnam Veterans Day in 1974. As well as several other items from Congressional Records during the period.

The Vietnam War era saw the American citizens sick of decades of foreign wars, and who blamed the soldiers who fought them upon their return. Because of this unfavorable environment, the Vietnam War Veterans waited decades for their sacrifices to be formally recognized.

More than 2.7 million Americans served in uniform in Vietnam, with more than 58,000 of those service members killed during the war. The Tet Offensive played an important role in weakening U.S. public support for the war in Vietnam.

In January of 1968, during the lunar new year (or “Tet”) holiday, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam.

The U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries sustained heavy losses before finally repelling the communist assault. This was widely considered the final straw in an already unpopular American war, and led to the withdrawal of all American forces a few years later.

GPO has printed several publications throughout the years that illustrate the intricacies of this contested war.

GPO’s Government Bookstore offers many publications that can help you pay homage to this unique history. Some of those include:

Combat Operations: Staying the Course, October 1967-December 1968 describes the twelve-month period when the Viet Cong and their North Vietnamese allies embarked on a new and more aggressive strategy that shook the foundations of South Vietnam and forced the United States to reevaluate its military calculations in Southeast Asia. Hanoi’s general offensive-general uprising brought the war to South Vietnam’s cities for the first time and disrupted the allied pacification program that was just beginning to take hold in some rural areas formerly controlled by the Communists. For the enemy, however, those achievements came at a staggering cost in manpower and material; more importantly, the Tet offensive failed to cripple the South Vietnamese government or convince the United States to abandon its ally. As the dust settled from the Viet Cong attacks, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered his military commanders to press ahead with their current strategy unchanged apart from some short-term tactical adjustments and a modest increase in the U.S. troop deployment. His decision to stay the course seemed to bear fruit as the allies repaired their losses and then forged new gains throughout the summer and autumn of 1968. Even so, the allied situation at the end of this period appeared to be only marginally better than it had been in late 1967; the peace talks in Paris had stalled, and American public opinion had turned decisively against the war.

Melvin Laird and the Foundation of the Post-Vietnam Military, 1969-1973 . Melvin Laird became President Richard Nixon’s secretary of defense in January 1969. His challenging agenda included two goals: withdrawing the U.S. military from Vietnam and reshaping U.S. the armed forces for the future. He worked toward ending the inequitable draft system and replacing it with an all-volunteer force of regulars supported by National Guard and Reserve components. Laird’s tenure was also marked by battles with Congress and the administration over the defense budget and the antiballistic military system as well as efforts to strengthen alliances with NATO, East Asian allies, and Israel.

Advice and Support: The Final Years, 1965-1973 . In Advice and Support: The Final Years, 1965-1973, Jeffrey J. Clarke describes the U.S. Army advisory effort to the South Vietnamese armed forces during the period when the U.S. commitment in Southeast Asia was at its peak. The account encompasses a broad spectrum of activities at several levels, from the physically demanding work of the battalion advisers on the ground to the more sophisticated undertakings of senior military officers at the highest echelons of the American military assistance command in Saigon.

U.S. Army Campaigns of the Vietnam War: Taking the Offensive, October 1966-September 1967 . Taking the Offensive, October 1966–September 1967, by Glenn F. Williams, begins with a discussion of Operation ATTLEBORO in Tay Ninh Province. The largest allied operation to date in the war, ATTLEBORO forced the 9th PLAF Division to abandon its attack on Suoi Da Special Forces camp and cost over 1,000 enemy lives. Additional action in War Zone C, including Operations CEDAR FALLS, JUNCTION CITY, and JUNCTION CITY II, highlight the U.S. Army effort to disrupt the network of camps and supply stores of the North Vietnamese main force units through ground and air assault. Operations in Binh Dinh Province — THAYER I, THAYER II, PERSHING, and LEJUNE — continued to inflict heavy losses on the enemy. The efforts of the U.S. Army throughout Vietnam during this time allowed for growing political stability in South Vietnam leading up to the 3 September 1967 election. This pamphlet contains twelve maps and fifteen illustrations.

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

This comprehensive resource places greater emphasis on continuing professional development and workplace-based learning to close the gap between the classroom and clinical practice for health professions trainees, interns and residents. The Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education (CoEPCE) focus on improving health care through improvement in interprofessional collaboration and teamwork within clinical settings and models.

The first five CoEPCE ‘legacy sites’ (out of seven total CoE sites) developed the preliminary models at VA medical centers. These include the Boise PACT “ICU Model”, the Cleveland Dyad Model, the Seattle Panel Management Model, the San Francisco Huddle Model, and The West Haven Polypharmacy Model. Each site shares one case study example of educational curriculum and strategies that as an example of a strong practice that emerged between 2011-2016. The case studies are intended to demonstrate instructional strategies that emphasize workplace learning to support transition to practice into interprofessional teams as health profession trainees prepare to practice Veteran-patient centered primary care.

Within each of these environmental parameters, you will learn about the practice-based learning model implemented with nurse practitioner students and residents, physician residents, pharmacy residents, psychology interns and psychology postdoctoral fellows, first-year medical students, licensed Vocational Nurses, Social Workers, Medical Support Assistants, Registered Nurse Care Managers, and other health care trainees and professionals, including faculty. This volume also highlights some of the practice challenges in health care settings, especially in the health care of the Veterans’ community, such as monitoring, assessment, and treatment of high-risk, high needs patients, chronic disease management, scheduling and case management, practice partnerships, shared patient panels, and more.

This document provides a solid foundational study of the VA’s Centers of Excellence improvements in the U.S. Veteran primary care health system and patient care advancements.

About the author: This week’s blog contributor is Maureen Whelan, Senior Marketing Team Leader for GPO’s Publication and Information Sales program office in Washington, DC. Maureen oversees print and digital content dissemination strategy and manages third party free and paid content distribution through platforms and vendors, such as Apple iBookstore, Barnes and Noble.com, Google Play eBookstore, Ebscohost databases, Overdrive, and more.

As we well know, November 11 is Veterans Day. But it wasn’t always called that. At the end of WWI, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 as the first Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory.” Not until June 1, 1954 did President Dwight D. Eisenhower sign the law that struck out the word “Armistice” and replaced it with “Veterans.” Thus, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars. GPO employees printed that original act and now make it digitally available on govinfo.

One important way the U.S. Government honors all military service veterans is by providing first-rate health benefits and services. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs serves more than 8 million Veterans each year. Coverage is immediate, travels with recipients, meets healthcare law standards, and surpasses quality and effectiveness measurements. It’s the care Veterans have earned.

GPO makes available these health and benefits resources from the VA and its Veterans Health Administration:

This comprehensive medical benefits publication includes the standard FAQs on basic eligibility requirements, enrollment, copays, Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, and the like. It also highlights community living centers, medical foster homes, geriatric evaluation, home telehealth, and online tools that are part of the VA’s silver plate of world-class care.

This annual publication provides a complete summary of all Federal benefits available to qualified American veterans and their families. It’s must-have, up-to-date information on the benefits and rights owed to those who accepted the responsibility to defend America when duty called.

In the VA’s own words: “Our Servicemembers and Veterans have sacrificed to keep our country – and everything it represents – safe…Thank you for your service. Now let us serve you.”

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Service. Courage. Honor. Healthcare. You certainly won’t see that last word—healthcare—on a Veterans Day parade banner. But it belongs there nonetheless. For one important way the U.S. Government honors military service is by providing its Veterans first-rate health benefits and services. It’s the care they have earned.

Guiding our nation’s Veterans and their families through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) health benefits and services network—America’s largest integrated health care system—is a job for Health Care Benefits Overview 2015 Edition, Vol. 2. The 50-page booklet states: “Enrollment in the VA health care system provides Veterans with the promise that comprehensive health care services will be available when and where they are needed.” Now that’s a guarantee worth reading about!

A few neat facts from the benefits overview: VA serves more than 8 million Veterans each year. Coverage is immediate, travels with recipients, meets healthcare law standards, and surpasses quality and effectiveness measurements. And VA offers a free transportation program for Veterans who face challenges traveling to and from health care facilities.

Click on image to enlarge

Of course, the publication includes the standard cut-and-dry FAQs on basic eligibility requirements, enrollment, copays, Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, and the like. The comprehensive medical benefits package available to Veterans doesn’t stop there. Information on services such as community living centers, medical foster homes, geriatric evaluation, and home telehealth is part of the VA’s silver plate of world-class care.

In a way, this publication functions a bit like a magazine advertising modern, digital services: Veterans Crisis Line, My HealtheVet, eBenefits gateway, and the Veterans Canteen Service all have attention-grabbing ads. It’s a smart strategy. Meeting vets on the interwebs and connecting them to their VA medical benefits package is a necessary update to the care they have earned.

One particular statement, from a full-page dangling dog tag advert on page 34 (image above), provides the perfect ending to this post: “Thank you for your service. Now let us serve you.”

How do I obtain this publication?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

November 11 is Veterans Day, an annual holiday set aside to honor the contributions of the brave men and women who have served or are serving in the United States Armed Forces. Coinciding with Veterans Day, this month also marks the 239th anniversary of the Marine Corps. On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that “two Battalions of Marines be raised,” for service as landing forces for the Continental Navy. This resolution established the Continental Marines, and thus is now recognized as the official birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps. In celebration of the bravery and sacrifice of all the U.S. veterans and the U.S. Marine Corps birthday, Government Book talk is highlighting the following new veterans and military titles currently available from the U.S Government Bookstore.

Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors is the annual publication from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that provides a complete summary of all Federal benefits available to qualified American veterans of the United States armed forces, including their dependents and survivors. It is the must-have resource for veterans and veterans’ families to use to ensure that they have the latest information on the benefits and rights earned by these veterans in service of our nation.

A first of its kind, this book—of, by, and for the noncommissioned officer and petty officer—is a comprehensive explanation of the enlisted leader across the U.S. Armed Services. It complements The Armed Forces Officer, the latest edition of which was published by NDU Press in 2007, as well as the Services’ NCO/PO manuals and handbooks.

Written by a team of Active, Reserve, and retired senior enlisted leaders from all Service branches, this book defines and describes how NCOs/POs fit into an organization, centers them in the Profession of Arms, explains their dual roles of complementing the officer and enabling the force, and exposes their international engagement. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey writes in his foreword to the book, “We know noncommissioned officers and petty officers to have exceptional competence, professional character, and soldierly grit—they are exemplars of our Profession of Arms.”

Aspirational and fulfilling, this book helps prepare young men and women who strive to become NCOs/POs, re-inspires serving enlisted leaders, and stimulates reflection by those who have retired from or left active service. It also gives those who have never worn the uniform a better understanding of who these exceptional men and women are, and why they are properly known as the “Backbone of the Armed Forces.”

Liberating Kuwait is the official history of U.S. Marine Corps operations during the 1990-1991 Gulf War with Iraq. It covers such topics as Marines in the embassies in Kuwait and Iraq, Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the Battle of al-Khafji, the liberation of Kuwait, and the amphibious feint. This publication contains 24 color maps and numerous black and white and color photographs.

The Marine Corps Planning Process (MCPP) supports the Marine Corps warfighting philosophy of maneuver warfare. Since planning is an essential and significant part of command and control, the Marine Corps Planning Process recognizes the commander’s central role as the decision maker. It helps organize the thought processes of a commander and his staff throughout the planning and execution of military operations.

The Marine Corps Planning Process focuses on the mission and the threat. It capitalizes on the principle of unity of effort and supports the establishment and maintenance of tempo. The Marine Corps Planning Process is applicable across the range of military operations and is designed for use at any echelon of command. The process can be as detailed or as abbreviated as time, staff resources, experience, and the situation permit.

You Cannot Surge Trust comprises four case studies in which naval historians from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. explain how naval powers created a multinational, or “combined,” framework of interoperability while under national rules of engagement. The four crises addressed are maritime interdiction operations during the First Gulf War (1990-1991), and later in 2001-2003 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom; naval operations off the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Operation Sharp Guard (1991-1996); and peacekeeping operations in East Timor during Operation Stabilise (1999-2000).

This 4th revision of this popular Borden Institute reference on emergency surgery includes everything from war wounds to anesthesia, even covering gynecologic and pediatric emergencies, making this a must-have medical reference for civilian emergency medical personnel as well as military doctors and nurses.

The Coast Guard Incident Management Handbook (IMH) is designed to assist Coast Guard personnel in the use of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) during response operations and planned events. The Incident Management Handbook is an easy reference job aid for responders. It is not a policy document, but rather guidance for response personnel.

This new 2014 version of the Incident Management Handbook includes revisions informed by references (b) through (m), after action reports and lessons learned published after 2005, an internal field level review, and an external review by federal, state, local, and private sector maritime partners.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE PUBLICATIONS?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy these and other publications (with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide) from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore website at http://bookstore.gpo.gov:

About the author: Trudy Hawkins is Senior Marketing and Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Division supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore (http://bookstore.gpo.gov).

November 11, Americans celebrate Veterans Day, honoring the brave men and women who have served our Armed Forces in peacetime and in war.

This holiday dates back to the end of World War I when President Woodrow Wilson declared that this day be commemorated as Armistice Day after the warring sides declared an armistice:

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as “the Great War.” (History.com)

November 11th was celebrated as Armistice Day starting in 1919 and became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. After World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day in the United States. November 11 is still celebrated as Armistice Day in France and Belgium, but is called Remembrance Day today in the British Commonwealth of Nations, and is known as the Day of Peace in the Flanders Fields.

While Veterans Day is typically a tribute to America’s living veterans, it is always appropriate to include a moment of silence in respect for those who gave their lives for their country.

Honor veterans past and present by pausing for a minute of silence at 11:11 on 11/11/11, “the eleventh hour on the eleventh day on the eleventh month.” and in this case, the 11th year of the century as well!

The “War to End All Wars” instead gave birth to aerial warfare

Idealistically, many thought that “The Great War” would be “The War That Will End War” , a term first coined by famed British author H.G. Wells in 1914 and later used as “a war to end war” in a speech by President Wilson.

Instead of being the end of wars, World War I was a first in many ways, including the first war to feature the large scale use of manned aircraft for both reconnaissance and aerial combat.

A stirring snapshot of some of the key people, aircraft, and events that comprise this first century of Marine aviation, this book showcases the achievements of Marine aviation through seldom seen photographs and accounts of pivotal battles and events.

Intended as a “museum in a book,” 1912-2012100 Years of Marine Corps Aviation: An Illustrated History includes an overview for each time period in Marine aviation, chapter introductions, feature articles, and a running timeline. A real plus is the bonus oral history CD that the Marine Corps has included in the back of the book, providing the text and photos along with first-hand accounts from select Marine aviators, which really bring the stories alive.

Particularly interesting are the exploits of legendary Marine aviators including Roy Geiger, Joseph Foss, Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, Keith McCutcheon, Frank Petersen Jr., and others, including aviator-turned-astronaut John Glenn Jr., who besides being the first American to orbit the earth, wrote the foreword for this book.

First Flying Leatherneck

Featured in the book is the man who started it all: A.A. Cunningham. On May 22, 1912, two years before the outset of World War I, Alfred A. Cunningham, then a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, first reported for “duty in connection with aviation”—i.e., flight instruction—to the new Naval Aviation Camp that had just been established at Annapolis, Maryland, home of the US Naval Academy.

Today considered “the father of Marine aviation,” Lt. Col. Alfred Austell Cunningham, better known to Marines as A.A. Cunningham, became the “de facto director of Marine Corps aviation.”

Fun fact: A quick study, Cunningham received less than three hours of instruction before flying his first solo flight as a Marine aviator!

Also mentioned in the publication is Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina, next to where I used to live in New Bern. MCAS Cherry Point is home to a number of Marine air squadrons, including VMAQ-1, VMAQ-2, VMA-223 and VMA-231, and hosts a phenomenal air show every year. Oo-rah to my old neighbors!

Formally established in 1919, Marine Attack Squadron 231 takes great pride in being the oldest squadron in the Marine Corps. After being re-designated the First Squadron, VMA-231 adopted the “Ace of Spades” moniker, since the Ace is the first card in the suit. The “A” in the upper left stands for “Air” and the “S” in the lower right stands for “Squadron”.

About the Author: Michele Bartram is Promotions Manager for GPO’s Publication and Information Sales Division and is responsible for marketing the US Government Online Bookstore (Bookstore.gpo.gov) and promoting Federal government content to the public. She is a fan of military aviation, from growing up near Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and watching Air Force One and the Blue Angels overhead, to living in New Bern, NC, near Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and watching the Harriers do practice fly over runs.